Stage of Clean-up: Construction Completed

Conditions at listing (September 1983): The Upjohn Site in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, is the result of a spill of l5,300 gallons of a mixture of 65 percent CARBON TETRACHLORIDE and 35 percent ACETONITRILE. In September l982, a buried tank holding this mixture leaked, releasing its contents into ground water. EPA and the U.S. Geological Survey have documented contamination of ground water. A large portion of the spilled material remains in the soil. A public well serving more than l2,000 people is less than l mile from the site. Upjohn has taken a number of remedial measures at the site, including (l) installing a grid of monitoring wells to define the plume of contaminated ground water; (2) installing a water line to the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority supply line to Tiborones; (3) providing emergency water supplies to Garrochales; (4) cleaning, inspecting, and testing the remaining underground tanks (no other leaks were found); and (5) installing a pilot extraction plant to remove the CARBON TETRACHLORIDE from the soil. Upjohn says it has already recovered 800 gallons of CARBON TETRACHLORIDE from the soil by vapor extraction.  More...

Sources of Contamination:

• Inadvertent spill
• Manufacturing process
• Waste tank - below ground

Groundwater and soil at the site are contaminated with CARBON TETRACHLORIDE and its degradation products from Upjohn's former manufacturing process wastes. Metals detected in the groundwater are believed to result from contamination originating from other local industries and development of the stainless steel monitoring wells. People who drink or come in contact with the water from the wells tapping the aquifer may be at risk. The aquifer discharges into wetlands, but the risk to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife is expected to be low based on estimates of existing and future concentrations of contaminants in the environment.

Contaminants Detected
	Ground Water	Surface Water	Air	Soil	Other
ACETONITRILE	X
CARBON TETRACHLORIDE	X

Groundwater and Drinking Water
Were drinking water wells shut down due to contamination?	Yes
Population served by the wells now shut down:	1,001 - 5,000
Are drinking water wells potentially threatened?	Yes
Population served by the threatened wells:	No data
Aquifer discharges into:	A drinking water aquifer
Population served by water wells in the aquifer:	10,001 - 100,000

List ground water uses.

EPA Hazard Ranking System scores for UPJOHN FACILITY:

Less Hazard

National Average

More Hazard

0%					50%					100%

Overall site:

Ground water migration:

Rank Superfund sites in the U.S., PUERTO RICO, or in ARECIBO County by EPA Hazard Ranking Scores.

*Note: EPA's Hazard Ranking System is designed to screen and prioritize sites for the Superfund program, based on limited data available at time of listing. These scores are not based on a comprehensive risk assessment of the site and do not reflect conditions after initiation of cleanup work.

Number of PRPs currently associated with this site:	0
Hazardous waste received from off-site generators/transporters?	No
Number of past and present PRPs who contributed less than 1% of the waste:	0
Number of owners/operators which are also municipalities:	0

EPA Site Information

• NPL Fact Sheet
• Record of Decision (ROD) Abstracts
• NPL Site 5 Year Reviews
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) Hazardous Waste Site Information
• Superfund Hazardous Waste Site Advanced Query Form

Scorecard reports for ARECIBO County on:

• Potential Sources of Land Contamination